Key-ring



G. W. MILLER.

(No Model.)

Key Ring.

Patented May 17, i881.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. MILLER, OF WEST MERIDE'N, CONNECTICUT.

KEY-RING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 241,502, dated May 17,1881.

Application filed March 26, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. MILLER, of West Meriden, in the county ofNew Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and usefulImproved Device for Securing Keys, of which the following is aspecification and description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, inwhich- Figure I is a side view of the flanged disk, showing the ringssecured thereto. Fig. II is a transverse section through the disk on aplane passing through its center. Fig. III is a plan view of the disk,showing four rings secured thereto. Fig. IV is a plan View of the disk,showing its flanges; and Fig. V is a side view of the ring as adapted tobe used with and secured to the flanged disk.

The object of my invention is to provide a cheap and convenient portabledevice for securing keys, and for separating them into groups or classesfor convenient use, so that any particular or desired key in the wholecollection may be quickly and easily found and conveniently used.

Hitherto it has been the practice of persons having a comparativelylarge number of keys to carry about in the pocket to secure them all toa ring or some device to keep them together. This practice has itsadvantages in some respects, and yet has its inconveniences in otherrespects, for although it is desirable to avoid the liability of theloss of keys by separation and isolation by being carried in thedifferent pockets, yet, when the number of keys to be carried in thepocket is exceedingly large, and are all attached to one ring, itbecomes a matter of no little difficulty to select from the entirecollection any particular or desired key for use, especially if there bea large number of keys of the same character in the collection. Take,for example, a collection of a dozen keys on a single ringwhich isnounusual numberand half of them are what are known as the Yale-lock keys,all closely resembling each other, it is a matter of no littledifficulty, oftentimes, to select any particular one from the wholegroup, and the difficulty sometimes becomes vexatious and annoying.

The object of my invention is to avoid all this trouble and annoyance.

(No model.)

In the drawings, A denotes a disk, which may be of any desired form inits plan, whether rectangular, polygonal, or circular; I prefer thelatter form with an annular flange, as 3, projecting outward alittledistance all around on each side at its perimeter, which flange shouldbe somewhat sharp and of a decided shouldered form on the inside, asshown clearly in Fig. II. This disk is provided with a centralperforation, 6, with a projecting annular flange, 2, on each side thedisk, all around this central perforation, leaving a thin web betweenthe outer flange, 3, and the inner flange, 2. This inner flange, 2,instead of being angular and shouldered, as is the outer flange, 3, issomewhat rounded, as shown clearly in Fig. II.

A spring-ring, 1, preferably of steel, is provided with an opening, asat 4 in Fig. V, and this ring is opened sufficiently to insert the outerflange, 3, in through the opening 4, and the two ends of the ring at theopening will then clasp the web portion of the ring firmly between them,as shown clearly in Fig. II. If the extreme ends of the ring areslightly rounded, the ring will bear upon the web only in a very smallplace, and will swing into any position very freely and easily. When thedisk is thus secured in the ring, as above described, if it is desiredto place a key upon the ring, the ends of the latter are pushed orforced over the rounded flanges 2, around the central aperture 6, andinto the aperture, so that the ring will then be in the centralaperture. The ring may then be turned so as to insert the eye of a keythrough the opening, and the two ends of the ring are then pulled backover the flanges 2, so as to clasp the web portion of the ring betweenthem, and the key is then secure upon the ring and cannot be lost ofl".

Any desired number of keys may be placed upon a single ring, and anydesired number of rings may be secured on a single disk, as shown in thedrawings, and when several are placed upon one disk they will freelyswing into different positions, either all together, as shown in Fig.III, or any one may be separated from all the others.

Suppose, as is often the case, that a business man carries a largenumber of keys, some or many of which belong to his oflice. he has quitea number belonging to his house.

Perhaps If he should have a number of rings upon a single disk, it willbe readily seen that he could arrange them in groups so that he couldvery easily find any particular or desired key. For,

example, he could place all his desk-keys upon one ring, all his otheroffice keys on another, and 'all the keys belonging to his residenceupon another, and would, of course, in looking for any particular key,more readily and quickly recognize the group it was in than the keyitself, and the latter would then be very quickly found.

I prefer to make the disk of steel and harden it, as then it will not beeasily abraded by the firm clasping of the ends of the ring upon it.

. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is- Thecombination, in a device for securing keys, of a perforated diskprovided with an annular projecting flange on each side surround- 2oGEO. W. MILLER. Witnesses:

BENJ. PAGE, LEROY O. PARDEE. i

